Alex Nguyen | 15 Posted January 12, 2021 Share Posted January 12, 2021 (edited) The character Sonic was obviously created by the Japanese, however I feel like the character is more popular in the West than its home country since it was designed to be popular in both territories, marketed as a freedom fighter, which Westerners can relate to, and even had a Sonic float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. I was thinking about how Japan has so many iconic fictional characters that could represent Japan, such as: Mario, Goku, Pikachu, Kenshiro, Hatsune Miku, Kirito, Saber, RX-78-2 Gundam, etc. Sonic is a popular character for sure, but not sure if he would fit as a Japanese icon like his peers. What do you think? Edited January 14, 2021 by Alex Nguyen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbd39 | 2,018 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Sonic wasn't marketed as a "freedom fighter", he was marketed as the bad boy alternative to Mario who goes fast. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phart010 | 1,705 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Which Sonic are we talking about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange | 1,700 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 I feel like to adequately answer this question I would have to have been involved in both Western and Japanese society to an extent. I honestly couldn’t tell you how popular Sonic is in Japan. I guess you could say that’s an argument against him, but I had no idea how popular Dragon Quest was in Japan until recently and that was only because of the context we started getting once DQXI and their inclusion in Smash came about. IIRC the Mega Drive wasn’t as popular in Japan as the SF and PCE though (damn shame imo). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed Rothchild | 9,510 Editorials Team · Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Never been to Japan, don't know their sentiments, so I have no idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
croagunk | 798 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 I’ve never been to Japan, but I’m inclined to say Sonic is more of a Japanese icon. Mostly because he was created there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoctorEncore | 3,690 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 My gut tells me he has become more popular in the West, particularly this year with the release and success of the live action movie, but we would really need some input from a Japanese gamer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Morbis | 2,088 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 None of Sega's consoles ever really gained a strong foothold in Japan, so why on earth would you think Sonic would be a Japanese "icon"??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkTone | 984 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 That was in the comics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki | 4,930 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Maybe because he has that weird Japanese confusing art style to him... I mean hell the dude has one giant eyeball with 2 pupils in it. Look at the image above, that's some freaky stuff right there. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Nguyen | 15 Posted January 13, 2021 Author Share Posted January 13, 2021 5 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said: None of Sega's consoles ever really gained a strong foothold in Japan, so why on earth would you think Sonic would be a Japanese "icon"??? Well the Saturn did well in Japan. However without a huge Sonic title. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Nguyen | 15 Posted January 13, 2021 Author Share Posted January 13, 2021 7 hours ago, phart010 said: Which Sonic are we talking about? I was thinking of the character as a whole. However, I do like the left one better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,400 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 I think a lot of nostalgic Sonic stuff came from the west, e.g. the TV shows, the comics, his "tude". He's a hybrid, but basically everything Sonic about Sonic in my mind comes from western media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePhleo | 2,184 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Would you call Jesus a middle eastern icon? Sonic is a global icon. Dude has cartoons, comics, a movie, merchandise, the works! Fun Fact: you can type in “[Your first name] the hedgehog“ on google and shitty sonic fan art will pop up. If you’re lucky, you might even get some Rule 34 on your name... 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartman | 195 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Well one doesn't have to exclude the other. It is a Western one and what it is in Japan and to their gamers i really don't know. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a_profile_name | 230 Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 23 hours ago, Tanooki said: Maybe because he has that weird Japanese confusing art style to him... I mean hell the dude has one giant eyeball with 2 pupils in it. Look at the image above, that's some freaky stuff right there. Oh no! Now I can't unsee this for the rest of my life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPX | 1,369 Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 (edited) On 1/13/2021 at 4:50 PM, Tanooki said: Maybe because he has that weird Japanese confusing art style to him... I mean hell the dude has one giant eyeball with 2 pupils in it. Look at the image above, that's some freaky stuff right there. Siamese eyeballs? Addit: the one on the right is freakiest - his right pupil appears to protrude out of the right eyeball, and the pupils are so disproportionate to each other. Was the artist on crack at the time? Edited January 14, 2021 by GPX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPX | 1,369 Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Back on topic, Sonic is exactly like Mario - created from Japan with a global influence in mind, and no doubt with a lot of Western influence. I guess though if you’re a Sega fan, then he should be an icon no matter which continent you live in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 2,933 Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Sonic's whole universe and character roster etc. feels very inherently Japanese to me, and so much of it is grounded in their culture. It's pretty hard to ignore that aspect of his character. On 1/13/2021 at 12:35 AM, Alex Nguyen said: marketed as a freedom fighter, which Westerners can relate to True. The Japanese are pretty notorious for hating freedom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Nguyen | 15 Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share Posted January 14, 2021 3 hours ago, Sumez said: Sonic's whole universe and character roster etc. feels very inherently Japanese to me, and so much of it is grounded in their culture. It's pretty hard to ignore that aspect of his character. True. The Japanese are pretty notorious for hating freedom. It makes sense that Sonic's character was inherently Japanese, but most of their systems do much better outside of Japan and their mascot is much more popular overseas. That's why while Westerners wished that they lived in Japan, I would much rather live in Eastern European countries like Poland because I assume that they would believe in freedom. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Nguyen | 15 Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share Posted January 14, 2021 23 hours ago, ThePhleo said: Would you call Jesus a middle eastern icon? Sonic is a global icon. Dude has cartoons, comics, a movie, merchandise, the works! Fun Fact: you can type in “[Your first name] the hedgehog“ on google and shitty sonic fan art will pop up. If you’re lucky, you might even get some Rule 34 on your name... I think anyone who is familiar with Sonic knows the whole google search "[your name] the hedgehog". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki | 4,930 Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 On 1/14/2021 at 12:51 AM, sg17 said: Oh no! Now I can't unsee this for the rest of my life! Hah gotcha. >:] I was tempted to write 'enjoy this one as it won't be unseen' but I figured someone would call that out. Sonic the 2 pupiled cyclops. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Pac | 7,520 Graphics Team · Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 I'm so sorry ... -CasualCart 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,400 Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 Now I have to look up if Sonic wears pants and how any of that works. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefaultGen | 5,400 Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 OK all the girl Sonic characters wear clothes. None of the boys do. That's why seeing Sonic in clothes is weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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